Burning the Quran

PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty ImagesDove World Outreach Center while Pastor Terry Jones speaks with reporters after earlier delivering the news that Qurans will not be burned at the church in Gainesville, Florida.

First Amendment rights
John Farmer’s Sunday op-ed piece “One nut, given a pulpit by the media” was spot on, especially his point that there are limitations to free speech — to wit, yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater.

Instead of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Gen. David Petreaus and others entreating whack-a-doodle fundamentalist Terry Jones to cease his dangerous threats, they should have employed the Patriot Act to its first and probably only good use and incarcerated the reverend so his quackery would no longer endanger Americans, whether abroad or at home. And make no mistake, burning the Qurans would make our existence substantially more perilous.

Farmer is also correct in pointing out that the media ceased reporting actual news a long time ago. Our elementary school-level population is less interested in actual current events affecting their lives than they are in sensationalism and living vicariously through the likes of the Lindsey Lohans, Paris Hiltons and the rest of the parasites whose every action rates more media attention then cancer, world peace or global warming.Nat Silber, Verona

Proud to be American
I am a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community whose motto is “Love for all, hatred for none.” I am extremely grateful to religious and political leaders in particular, and the vast majority of my fellow Americans who opposed the idea of “Burn a Quran day” on 9/11. They stood true to the values of religious tolerance and freedom on which this country was established.

While I mourned the loss of innocent human lives on the ninth anniversary of 9/11, I also felt grateful and proud to be an American. Nasir Ahmad, Tinton Falls

Embolden terrorists
If an al Qaeda leader said Jimmy Dean sausage advertisements in the Ladies’ Home Journal magazine during the month of Ramadan insults Muslim women, would Gen. David Petraeus claim the ad put our soldiers in danger and would our president call the publisher and ask that the ads be removed?

History has shown that what emboldens bullies on the school grounds or terrorists in the international arena is surrendering to each of their demands, one at a time, until they achieve their goal of domination. Ronald Weinger, Berkeley Heights

Muslims died, too
Sarah Khan, a cafeteria manager from Guyana; Syed Abdul Fatha, a copy machine operator from India; Zuhtu Ibis, a computer technician from Turkey; Michael Baksh, a Pakistani immigrant on his first day of work at the insurance firm Marsh & McLennan; Abdoul Karim Traore, a cook at Windows on the World restaurant; Karamo Trerra, a computer tech, ready to celebrate his fourth wedding anniversary on Sept. 12, and Salman Hamdani, who apparently abandoned his commute to work that morning to offer his skills as an EMT and police cadet at the Trade Center.

These are just a few of the 60 persons of Muslim faith who were innocent victims of the terrorist attack that caused nearly 3,000 deaths at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Yes, Muslims as well as Christians and Jews died together on 9/11.

But some ignorant, narrow-minded morons in America want to burn the holy book of these Muslims who perished on that terrible day. Kal Wagenheim, Millburn

Clearly those shortcomings — no Amtrak access to the new tunnels; inability to extend the tracks to, or in the vicinity of Grand Central Terminal; a “deep cavern” terminal hundreds of feet below 34th Street — are “unavoidable” only in the configuration that NJ Transit adopted. The “engineering necessity” leading to these shortcomings was self-inflicted because of wrongheaded decisions that NJ Transit adopted during the review process.

There were other alternatives that could eliminate these shortcomings. The National Association of Railroad Passengers, the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, the Empire State Passengers Association and the Lackawanna Coalition have proposed an affordable alternative called “Moynihan/Penn Station First” that would permit Amtrak to use the costly new rail tunnels. This plan would, among other things, eliminate the $3 billion (of $8.7 billion) six-track “deep cavern” 34th Street terminal. Rather, the tracks from the new bores would be connected to the existing platforms at New York Penn Station.

It’s time for the Christie administration to right-size the rail tunnel and make it one the state can afford.Albert L. Papp, Jr., Millington

Pension burdens
I am a retired New Jersey school teacher. After I read “Burden of state pensions” (Aug. 15) I was annoyed. Did you print it just to arouse the reader’s indignation?

Yes, a few, and I mean a few, pensioners may receive enough pension money to skew the amount received by the majority. But most of us who spent years in the trenches earning less money than the public sector do not receive pensions anywhere near $70,000. The pension formula would not allow that.

We also contributed to the pension fund, unlike New Jersey.

Come on, Star-Ledger, you know that as well as I do. And the chances of many teachers double-dipping are few and far between. Shame on you.Helen Naftali, Monroe Township

Story should be told
Paul Mulshine says “Don’t remember 9/11” (Sept. 12). Where was I when the 9/11 event happened? At the World Trade Center, running for my life. I want people to know my story and realize the horror of what happened that day, and yes, it did change my life in many ways forever, some good, some bad.

As a country, when we remember the victims of 9/11 and when the survivors tell their stories, we show the world that we are not intimidated by what happened. On the contrary, we are brought together to show the world we are not going to let this happen again.

A new trade center is being built as we speak, in defiance of the terrorists’ goal. We will rebuild anything they try to take away from us. We will go on as a nation and they will see that we are not afraid.Joann Kornas, Kenilworth

Reminders needed
I watched many network programs commemorating Sept. 11, but nowhere did I see any video of the planes impacting the towers. Why not? Are those videos now politically incorrect?

I think they should be shown every Sept. 11 to remind Americans how our culture and civilization are under constant threat of attack. Allen D. Riley, South Plainfield